Bug

I read an article in some mag many years ago. It showed pics of climbers before and after some Himilayan ascent. It talked about 19000 effects - Fatcells are eaten. 22000 effects- muscle cells are eaten. 26000 effects- brain cells are eaten. These are all from my feeble memory. I cannot find the article nor find a good source of information to confirm or deny my memories. The science was not clearly understood at the time I read the article. I am hoping for better info from somebody here.

OK. I'm a fat bug. I can lose weight no problem-eat less climb more. This happens every summer. But the fat cells only shrink. I need to get up to altitude to burn those suckers out of existance. Does anyone know a good reference on the effects of altitude on physiology? I know a lot about altitude sickness. I want to find out more about the 19000' threshold where the body starts eating fat cells. My real question is, can I go up on Orizaba and still realize the effects? Orizaba is 18900'.

$5 pitchers? Where is the sloop? Or do I have to wade thru the whole lurid thread?

This stuff looked very tempting to me and Dave seemed like a cool guy. Too bad I'm in the red already.

Sounds like my IT band when I yanked on it glissading sun cups at high speed. I was in good shape and it still took four months for a total recovery. Don't wait. Get someone who can figure it out and do what they tell you. I took a lot of B12 and water. It's food for yanked wires.

Hmmm. Not sure which duck wack yur aimin for. I know no Dave W. Just tellin what I heard at 14K.

Read this again. It is what I would say. One major difference is that I didn't take skis at all because we were going to do the West Rib. Besides walking down from 11K, I had to watch DOZENS of people ski excellent terrain ALL OVER THE WB. Carry your mountain boots if you have to. The skiing can be memorable. For me it is a very painful memory.

I was going to do Gib Ledges this weekend but the Avalanche danger was extreme. There was a great TR about the route a couple weeks ago. Look it up in the Becky book. It is the prefered route in winter conditions. It is steep in places though so I am not saying it is the easiest or least technical. I am also watching the weather for a window. I am limited to weekends but if you want to talk about hooking up PM me.

I had good luck with TAT. I liked having their bunkhouse to crash in. They got us out quickly too. But there wasn't any bad weather. I have also heard lots of good reports about Doug Geeting.

I had two PM's but they didn't follow thru. This stuff is going to end up at 2nd ascent soon. Make me an offer.

I will happily take all that Russian titanium off your hands.

I don't know the total mileage but the DC route is a lot less altitude and easier to descend. We didn't want to cross those week looking bridges again either. A long swing into a wall of ice can cost you a lot of time and energy. But if conditions are better than when I did it, the glacier could be easier and descending the ridge itself would not be a problem. An early morning crossing would help a lot too. Now that I am old and fat, I prefer to take a little more time to enjoy the surroundings anyway. Liberty Ridge is one of my all time favorite places to enjoy surroundings. Fast and light is cool and safer if you are facing weather changes but a place like LR is worth spending some time just to be there.

Tell us about the crevasses you encountered and how you crossed them. That is the only part of your solo trip that makes me hesitate. Good work by the way. That would be a great solo.

Before kids I did Liberty Ridge with a friend in two days from The Carbon River trailhead. We left early AM Friday (Late June 91 or 92) and took two cars up to Paradise. Ditched one and went back to the Carbon where we jumped out of the car ready to go. It took us till 10:30 to get to where we jumped onto the Carbon glacier. We followed tracks out onto the glacier being a bit wary of the softened snow. I went first and punched through one bridge with a foot and a fist. When I pulled my fist out and looked in, I was over a bottomless chasm and about ten feet from either side. I crawled across and set up a belay for my partner. He took a path a little to the left and had no problem. After criss-crossing around to avoid huge gapers we came to a huge one with a week looking bridge. It was his turn to go first so I set up a belay and watched him step out into certain fall territory. The bridge held and he set up a belay for me. I was about twenty pounds heavier than him so I was a little nervous. I tried to step very evenly and made it across. We went about a hundred more yards and came to another bridge that looked a little worse. We both made it across but were sure it would give out on each of us. From there, it was a short distance to the toe of the ridge. We got to it no problem and started the dusty, grapel war to the crest. It was loose scree on top of frozen loose scree which probably was a lot easier in crampons. From there, we headed up the ridge just right of the crest. We were following tracks but by now it was early afternoon and we were postholing about every third step. We tried going to the crest but it was too broken and jagged so we resigned ourselves to slogging up the slush. It didn't take all that long to get up to the thumb and the two parties ahead of us. We camped close to the edge of the drop to the Carbon and settled in for a long evening in a very fantastic setting. I slept soundly all night but everyone else was woke up by an avalanche on the Curtiss wall. It cleared the entire face and dropped debri on our tracks where we crossed the Carbon. Everyone thought we were all going to die. I wish I would have been awake. The next morning we took our time getting started as the other two teams were hot on the route very early. About 8AM we got moving. The step right at the start of the chute was mostly bare with a little water ice here and there. It was about ten feet of 5.8. From there we unroped. We passed both parties in the chute. As we crossed under the big rock above the chute it cut loose a load of rock that ripped down to the climber's right of everyone else. The second party had been doing long switchbacks and the rockslide crossed their tracks several times. We were now on firm untracked snow and really cruising. When we got to where the route veared right, we looked up and saw a nice snow block laying across the begschrung at the base of the Liberty cap serac. We roped up and were able to cross it with minimal settling and get out on the liberty cap summit snow field. It was squeeky styro-foam. When we looked down between our feet, we would see the snowfield as far as the edge and then the Carbon Glacier a good 6K below. From the summit of Liberty Cap it was a long slog to the summit and down the DC route to Paradise. We were home for a late dinner.

Half my gear was scarfed from the Glacier Point Apron , Index, and Joshua Tree. I have never had a biner break on me. And I'm a fat boy (210). Longest winger was about 20 feet.

Kelty mummy bag. 0 degree. Hollowfil. 4lbs. perfect condition. $45. Koflach plastic boots ladies 6.5. Good condition. $65.

Did you hear about the rosetta stone they found in Siberia? It has an ancient dialect of eskimo translated to a more contemporary dialect. They had a word for 'vegetarian'. Roughly translated it meant 'Bad hunter'.

I got it at Bridger Mountaineering in Missoula MT. It was on sale. Go figure.

Good point. I failed to mention that very important detail. It is good to see where it is going and how it is fitting but don't look at it while bounce testing. And minimize the bounce testing. That will get your gear stuck and your second will want a hammer. I bring along a old concrete worker's hammer with the pick and most of the head ground off. It's light and works great for those stubborn pieces. Just put your tool against the bottom of the nut and tap. Hooks are amazing when you first start using them. Especially after a few consecuative moves. Enjoy.

Then take it all. Actually, good advice from Lambone. If you are not top-roping, take enough to sew it up. And when possible, place your pieces at eye level or thereabouts so you can see them real well. This is good for your placement skill development for awhile. At least until you have a good feeling about your placements. If you are top-roping then Lambone's advice is good - go light to eliminate clutter. But I like to practice setting different kinds of pieces too. Stoppers, tricams, TCUs, stacking stoppers, camming stoppers, opposition, etc.... It's all fun if you have enough whiskey.

Nyet. 7mm, 60m. light. Use as 2nd rope for rapels. Mostly I use it doubled for solo climbs that have little roped climbing. I tie figure eights in both. Carry very little gear, like 10 pieces. Rap off 100' or less. I tried it as an experiment and decided I like it. I would definately recommend twin 8.7's as a normal setup though.

You're showing your age, Bug Easy there Micky. I was 19 when I first got shot with a roid bullet. It can hit you younguns too. Especially when you are humpin big loads.

Yeah. I've been wearin the same wool underwear for years. It's like getting a vasectomy only worse. I went to twin 50m 9mms in the mid 80's. Alpine, big crags, Index whatever, I loved the versatility immediately. Now, through a sale I couldn't pass up, I have a 10.2 and a 7mm both 60m. It's OK but the 10.2 is overkill these days. Twin 60m 8.7s dry, bicolored will definately be my next set. And for the next decade I will wear poly pro underwear.

HMMMM powder or crud? What a tough decision. Sounds to me like Micky Mouse was almost inviting us out there. I'd go in a heartbeat if I didn't have a few encumbrances like a job a wife and kids We were over in Idaho for some face shots a couple weeks ago. I love the Cascades but I'd be in the rockies if the pay were the same. I guess I'll have to settle for climbing Rainier and Index.

"Hey, I didn't want to hurt your feelings so! Just pointing out what total crap your advice was . I've climbed for a fairly long time, and actually climb pretty hard, so my opinion is a reflection of my own experience. It seems as though your opinions were from some "hard" climbers, not your own. I'd say question it, and then spout off when you actually get to a proficient level of climbing on your own. But if these ideas work for you, then cool. Keep on keepin on. And not to impress you or anything, but my ideas come from having onsited V8, climbed V10, worked out 5.14 etc etc. " OK but have you ever climbed outside?